Architect says SPAC defied critics

Robert Loren Rotner is the architect who designed the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, which was originally constructed as a summer home for the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The New York Philharmonic would not commit until after the facility was built and they determined it worked for them acoustically, leading to the Philadelphia Orchestra being approached instead. Construction on SPAC lasted two years, and skeptics predicted the venue would be a flop and that the acoustics would not work. (Acoustical expert) Paul Veneklasen had done work for the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music. The large white canopy over the orchestra pit, that was supposed to be painted a dark color (to blend into the background). Rotner notes that when the venue opened, the reaction proved the critics who had expected a disaster wrong. The reviews when Saratoga opened up were glowing. The venue has seen all kinds of performances, from the ballet and orchestra, of course, to every imaginable genre. There has been an enormous variety especially popular music. People could sit on the lawn, bring their own lunches and their own dinners.